WILLEMSTAD - A group of 32 Venezuelan refugees detained in Curaçao to be sent back went on a hunger strike last week. Undersecretary Raymond Knops of Kingdom Relations, who visited the prison complex last week, did not speak to the Venezuelan prisoners there because such a conversation was "unforeseen."

The humanitarian and political crisis in Venezuela has long led to a true exodus from the country. Most Venezuelans who leave their country due to hunger and other defects end up in neighboring countries Colombia and Brazil. But a relatively small group ventures into the dangerous crossing with boats by sea to Aruba and Curaçao.

The government in Curaçao, however, considers the refugees to be "illegal immigrants", hunts them down and detains them in dire circumstances awaiting their deportation.

ARRIVED IN THE KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS

Amnesty International published a critical report on this situation in September last year.

Now, seven months later, the situation in Venezuela has deteriorated even further. President Maduro has even closed the borders with the islands to prevent foreign relief supplies coming to the country. But Curaçao has not changed its policy and is still locking up the Venezuelan refugees.

VISIT MINISTER AND UNDERSECRETARY

Last week, Interior Minister Kajsa Ollongren and Undersecretary Raymond Knops visited the Dutch Caribbean. Knops also visited the SDKK (Sentro di Detenshon i Korekshon Korsou), the prison complex where the so-called "alien barracks" are located.

This visit was intended, according to a spokesperson for the Undersecretary, to look at the improvement of the facilities for the detention of aliens, which are being worked on with financial support from the Netherlands. "The visit was aimed at being able to record the situation with their own eyes."

When asked why the Undersecretary, if he was on the spot, did not speak to the detained refugees, the answer is: "A conversation with the people in the barracks was not foreseen."

HUNGER STRIKE

After the Undersecretary left and the refugees could not tell him their story, a group of 32 decided to go on a hunger strike. In a telephone conversation with a reporter from Noticias Curazao, a Spanish-language website, they explain why.

"The whole world knows about the problems in Venezuela. And we are sitting here, deprived of our freedom. We have not committed any crime, we are just immigrants, there are no criminals here. "

"We are here because we want people to listen to us. We want the government of Curaçao to help us so that we can assist our families in Venezuela. "

"We need help. Help us, please help us! In this way we cannot help our families in Venezuela. "

RETURN

Despite the border blockade, Aruba and Curaçao still succeed in sending refugees back to Venezuela. For this, agreements have been made with the Maduro regime, which itself sends charters to the islands to pick up Venezuelan migrants.

"In some cases, people are deported via flights deployed by Venezuela itself. These are flights that collect stranded fellow countrymen abroad," said the spokesman for Undersecretary Knops.